French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and National Rally party chief Jordan Bardella have firmly rejected Russian pressure, asserting that French policies will not be influenced by Moscow’s actions as the country approaches its presidential election next year.

In a joint statement released on Monday, Le Pen and Bardella condemned what they described as Russia’s “hostile” behavior toward France, signaling a clear distancing from Moscow. This stance follows recent moves by the Kremlin to seize assets belonging to subsidiaries of several major French companies, as well as the Swiss food giant Nestlé’s local subsidiary. The Russian government justified these seizures as punitive measures against “unfriendly countries” supporting Ukraine, which Russia invaded in 2022 and continues to seek to control through military action.

Le Pen, who leads voter polls for the first round of the April 2024 presidential election, and Bardella, widely regarded as her likely prime minister should she win, have faced scrutiny over their previous ties to Russia. The National Rally secured a €9.4 million loan from a Moscow bank several years ago, which was repaid in early 2023. Additionally, Le Pen traveled to Moscow in 2017 to meet with President Vladimir Putin, an association that her political opponents have frequently cited to question her stance on Russia.

Despite these past connections, Le Pen has publicly condemned Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and emphasized France’s sovereignty in determining its policies. In the recent statement, she underscored that Russia “cannot hope to directly or indirectly dictate the policies” of France through “intimidation, threats, destabilisation or psychological pressure.”

The evolving geopolitical context has prompted French President Emmanuel Macron, who is ineligible to run for a third term, to convene a meeting of major French political figures last Saturday to address the growing threat perceived from Moscow's actions. Notably, Le Pen did not attend this gathering.

As the French presidential race intensifies, Le Pen’s rejection of Kremlin pressure marks a strategic attempt to respond to criticisms about her party’s past Russian ties while positioning herself as a defender of French national interests amid ongoing tensions linked to the war in Ukraine.